Rally May Stall On Friday For Japan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Japan stock market has finished higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 430 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now rests just above the 51,280-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on continued uncertainty regarding the end of the U.S. government shutdown. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the automobile producers and financials were capped by weakness from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index improved 218.52 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 51,281.83 after trading between 50,954.27 and 51,338.89. Among the actives, Nissan Motor accelerated 2.83 percent, while Mazda Motor jumped 1.89 percent, Toyota Motor rose 0.25 percent, Honda Motor strengthened 1.33 percent, Softbank Group plunged 3.38 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial rallied 2.08 percent, Mizuho Financial collected 2.55 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial climbed 1.19 percent, Mitsubishi Electric fell 0.21 percent, Sony Group shed 0.36 percent, Panasonic Holdings slumped 1.20 percent and Hitachi improved 2.12 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is rough as the major averages opened slightly lower on Thursday but accelerated deeper into the red as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow plunged 779.86 points or 1.62 percent to finish at 47,474.96, while the NASDAQ tanked 536.10 points or 2.29 percent to end at 22,870.36 and the S&P 500 sank 114.20 points or 1.67 percent to close at 6,736.72.

The Dow pulled back well off the record closing high set on Wednesday amid a steep drop by shares of Disney (DIS), which came under pressure after the company reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates but weaker than expected revenues.

Valuation concerns also continued to weigh on tech stocks, with AI darling and market leader Nvidia (NVDA) moving sharply lower along with tech heavyweights like Broadcom (AVGO) and Alphabet (GOOGL).

The weakness on Wall Street may also have reflected uncertainty whether key U.S. economic will be released following the end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Crude oil edged higher on Thursday as the end of the U.S. government shutdown has renewed confidence in consumption and energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was up $0.22 or 0.38 percent at $58.71 per barrel.

Closer to home, Japan will see September figures for its tertiary industry activity index later today; in August, the index fell 4.3 percent.